It's Payback, European Style! A trip to Bavaria & Austria for DIS friends! - Travel Complete! It's a Wrap! 11/2

[franandaj]

Schnapps and liquer and gummy bears, oh my! Sounds like a tasty suitcase!

And heavy too!

Simply gorgeous! It reminds me of the library Beast gives to Belle. I always love the smell of libraries filled with old books. This looks like it would be an incredible place to cozy up and read.

Except they're probably all in German!

Wow, this is really incredible. Those bones and skulls are real, I assume?

Yeah, this isn't Disney!

 

[franandaj]

Once the main tour was over, we had paid extra for an additional tour of the “guest sleeping areas”, so the guide walked the other people out of the building and came back to give us the tour.

We climbed another floor and went into a series of rooms that were occupied by the Emperor and Empress when they came to visit. They were very lavishly appointed, and all of them had huge stoves to warm the rooms, as well as beds, sitting areas, and such. This room was where you sat and waited if you were to take an audience with the Emperor.

Moving on to the next room.

I believe that this was the room where one would have a private audience with the Emperor.

I believe this was the actual room where the Emperor slept.

And I believe that this was the Empress’s room.

I don’t remember what this room was for, perhaps gatherings and receptions.

Moving to the next room.

It’s like these rooms are never ending!

The last room was a replica of Bruckner’s room, to show how simply he lived in comparison to the opulence of those that he served.

This bed was his one big splurge of his lifetime. He had very little but the bed was his biggest luxury.

Then we went and had lunch at the restaurant on site. It had been a while since I'd had some real vegetables, I'm not huge on veggies, but I like them to break up all the meat and starch. They had been few and far between. I think I had two salads so far in Austria and the rest had been meat and potatoes. I ordered a salad with pieces of fried chicken, and it was quite good, but a very large portion. And mostly chicken!

Then we went to the concert in the church. It was a beautiful experience.

After that we drove back to Linz. Here is another look at St. Florian from the Motorway.

I had a little bit of souvenir shopping that I wanted to do. First we went to the Haribo Outlet.

This is what $20 of gummi bears looks like from the Haribo outlet. One of these bags sells for about $5.99 in my grocery store. I think this is like a one year supply for me! (Spoiler alert: It wasn’t. They’re all gone!)

Then we went to one of their mega grocery stores so that I could buy some Milka bars. My little Billa next to the hotel did not have any good flavors that I liked. They were all Hazelnut, or some kind of other nut, not my cup of tea.

I got enough chocolate to last me who knows how long? I don't eat a lot, maybe a square or two every couple nights. A lot of times I forget I have it and don't eat it for a week so we will see how long this lasts. I still have some of those!

Then they dropped me off at the hotel for a couple hours break. I packed my Gummi bears and chocolate. Boy are the TSA going to think i'm a nut job if they check my suitcase.

I got caught up on the notes for this TR and even wrote another post for one of the ongoing TRs. If I'm going to launch this TR, I need to wrap up the others, so I'm going to be doing a mad dash to finish the others while I start this one slowly.

Anyways, they picked me up around quarter to 7PM and we went to dinner. We went back to the Austrian pub that we had been to earlier in the week. For the last few days id really been craving spinach. Probably since I'd had so few veggies on this trip. They had a späetzle with spinach, ham, and cream, and that totally hit the spot.

I could only eat half of it, as it is for me with most restaurant meals. And they offered me a box to take it home for Breakfast! Woo-hoo!

I was stuffed but Karin insisted that I have dessert. We found the smallest dessert on the menu. It was a crepe filled with apricot marmalade and dusted with powdered sugar. It was delicious, but I could not finish it all!

Even with the schnaps that they insisted would aid my digestion.

They dropped me off at the hotel for my last night in Linz.

 

[franandaj]

Day 13

Even though today I was having a late pickup, I wasn't able to sleep much past 6AM. So I got up and dressed and packed the last of my things into my suitcase. When I got out my handy dandy travel scale, the large suitcase weighed in at 56lbs. Even if business class allows up to 70 pounds for luggage, this is a problem because I have to get my bags on and off the train.

I was being Jill's Gummi Bear mule in addition to my own sweet tooth addiction. Karin had given me three Kilos of Bears and Jam for Jill. That was the first bunch to come out of the suitcase. I also put my single serving fondue cup in my carry-on, as well as my own gummies and chocolate bars. Oh and folks, if you're thinking that these are those kind of gummies, no, they're just candy. The only high we will get from them is a sugar high.

I weighed the suitcase again and now it was 46 lbs. My tiny duffel bag? It was 17 lbs. My purple carry-on was full of treats. It was just before 8AM and it would be another couple hours before I had coffee with Karin and Tom, so I went downstairs where they served breakfast (for about €7) which I didn't purchase when I reserved the room. I asked if I could buy a cup of coffee and they said for me to get whatever I wanted and they would charge me accordingly.

I got a Verlängter Groß. Which I understand to be two shots of Espresso with some water added. At first I had avoided this version, but the Espresso was so strong, I decided this might not be a bad option. I added some milk and it was actually just perfect. It was only €2,90,what a deal!

I went back upstairs, finished my packing, and fixed myself some späetzle and finished off my tomato juice.

And then it was just a waiting game. I uploaded some photos to Instagram, filled my water bottle and got everything ready, and when I went downstairs Karin and Tom were waiting me in the parking lot. I turned in my key, and then my stay in Austria was over.

Here we are driving to a parking garage underneath the city center. See those trees and walls up on the top of the hill. That’s the restaurant where we had lunch the first day.

When we came up the stairs from the parking garage, I immediately recognized where we were!

We went to the Cafe Glockenspiel for breakfast. Remember when we visited the dwarves and the replica of the town center? This was one of the businesses represented there.

It was an elegant little cafe. They went with the basic Austrian breakfast, ham, cheese, weisses Ei, two pieces of bread, etc. I decided to have the Yogurt and fruit, but this time I was daring and even got Muesli on top of it! I had always been wary of muesli, not sure why, but I may even try it on the ship next week!

I also got the Kaffee Glockenspiel which was basically the kind of coffee that I decided that I liked best, served in a big mug with strong coffee and milk.

They enjoyed a second round of coffee, but not wanting to bounce off the walls on the train ride, I declined. Plus I did not need to spend another 4-5 bucks on a coffee. I looked at the train app, and it appeared that my train was already delayed about 10-15 minutes. That made me feel a little better because it was after 11AM and my train was scheduled to leave at 12:35. I know that I shouldn’t worry so much. Maybe once I travel more, I won’t stress over being early for everything.

On our way to the train station I snapped this last shot of the church up on the hill.

They dropped me off around 11:40, and I had plenty of time to make my way to the platform and wait. The app is pretty neat, you can see your train number and seat number. Magdalene had purchased me reserved seats for all my trips, even though I had to kick the people out of my seats on the last two trains, at least I had a seat. Now as I sat on the train platform looking at my carriage number and seat number, my carriage was no longer on the train!

I was texting with Magdalene who was at DLP, that my train was now gone! Since she bought the tickets she could see the same thing. She told me to just get on as close as I could to my car (I was in 1st class) and find an open seat.

Getting on the train was a bit of a challenge, with my two small heavy bags and my one big heavy bag, I wasn’t sure how I would do it. All the men at the stop just jumped on the train, and when I was about to go up the stairs, there was a woman behind me. I motioned for her to go ahead, and she asked in English, “Do you need help?” That was so kind!

I motioned to the small bags and she grabbed them and lifted them on the platform. I got my big bag up the steps and now I was on the train! That was most of the battle.

When I got on the train, it looked completely full. I showed my ticket to one of the drink servers, and he asked me (in German) if I was on 28? (the canceled carriage) And I told him “yes”. He looked at my ticket and went into the car, and pointed to a seat. By the time I started to grab my bags and such, someone was in the seat.

For about the first 10-15 minutes I stood in the compartment between the two 1st Class cabins. See how full the train was? I began wondering if I was going to be standing the entire 5 hours to Frankfurt.

Turns out my head is covering up where my seat actually is. I found a spot for my big bag right in front of where I was standing. Now that I had less to lug around, I took my other bags and walked the length of the cabin. There were no empty seats. I found a luggage storage location at the other end of the cabin and stowed my other two bags there.

Then I walked the cabin looking at the reservations on the seats to see if any would free up before I reached Frankfurt some 5 hours later. It was looking pretty bleak as I was going down the rows, until I got to a seat in the area where the server had been when he pointed at a seat. The gentleman in the seat got up and offered me his seat. Funny thing was it was the same seat number as the seat I was supposed to have in Carriage #28, only this was Carriage #27. Also the seat was reserved from Linz to Frankfurt. Funny about that!

My big bag was safely within my sight from my newly scored seat.

I was further texting with Magdalene and she said that no one should try and take my seat from me now since it was reserved through to Frankfurt. I took a few pictures out the window that actually came out fairly decent.

At the next stop, the people across the row exited the train and they freed up the spot right across from my seat when they took their luggage. On a potty stop, I grabbed my little duffel and put it there so no one would fill it up at the next stop.

At the next stop the other two suitcases were removed and now there was room for all my bags. Now all my bags were within my sight. I still had a good three hours until my stop.

I got out the computer, and got my rum soaked cake from the other day. I ate the cake and got caught up on this TR.

Once I had a seat, the train ride was rather relaxing. My European friends complain about the train, but to me it is still a novelty and I kind of like it. I saw a lot of pretty sights, but most of the time they were gone by the time I picked up the phone and pulled up the camera app. I did get these two!

I got a lot done on TRs on the train. In the end I was about an hour late from the original arrival time, but that's why I did my train travel the day before my flight. As we approached Frankfurt I realized that I was actually getting hungry, a feeling I had not experienced at all in the past week!

When I got to the train station I started to look for the Hilton Hotel. I headed in the direction of the Marriott and found signs for the Hilton but couldn't find it. I even asked a guy with a button that said “Can I help you?” In German of course. He told me to go outside and ask the taxi drivers. No help at all.

I pulled up Google Maps and I really should have just followed that. I walked all the way down this long hall and to the Marriott and Sheraton when a bellman told me to go back in the other direction. Right back to the train station. It turns out the Hilton was right there at the train Station! You can’t see it in this picture, but trust me it’s there!

Initially I had booked the Hilton, but a few months before I found a rate €20 cheaper at the adjacent Hilton Garden Inn, I got it a little cheaper if I chose the “pay now” option. So I did. That way at least this hotel was paid before the trip. I did the same with the hotel in Linz as well. Lodging was over 50% of the costs on my trip, and ⅔ of that was already paid off before the trip started!

I didn't do the digital check in, but I will for sure in the future. The check in desk was pretty swamped and people had so many inane questions that just made the wait longer. I took the extra points for my stay rather than the free breakfast because I was hoping to have access to the Business/First Class Lounge. As a benefit of being a Hilton Honors member I was also able to grab two complimentary bottles of water from their lobby store.

Finally I got to my room and I was elated to find a bathtub!

The room itself was pretty small but all I needed was a bed and a place to pee, and this was more than adequate. Since I was staying in an American chain hotel with a full bar, I figured they could probably make me my favorite adult beverage. The last time I'd had one was March 28 and it was May the 7th already. While sitting at the bar, I looked back through my pictures to find it!

The bar at the HIlton didn't have any cocktail onions, but a lot of places don't, so they were able to give me a lemon twist instead.

I realized that I should have some food. They had some Buffalo wings, but the description said BBQ sauce. I remembered the nasty wings I had in Cairo (that were swimming in BBQ sauce) and gave those a pass. I'll make some in my air fryer when I get home. There was a €27 cheeseburger which was also a “no”. In the end I went with some €7 Pomme Frites, which were actually quite tasty!

At this point I closed out the check. I knew I needed more food, and I checked the menu for restaurant at the Hilton Garden Inn, and they basically shared the same kitchen. So I went to Burger King and got a Whopper Jr which was about €5, savings of €22 although I'm sure the one from the bar would have looked/tasted better. But I didn't need tastes better, I just wanted a little bit of protein.

Then I went walking around the station to see if I could find some wine to take back to the room. There was a Rewe (the same grocery store across the street from Michael and Magdalene's apartment.) I found a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc for €3.99. Way better than even one glass of wine at the bar!

Bottle of wine secured, I headed back to the room. I put it on ice and headed to the tub. Even without pulsating jets massaging my sore muscles it was so nice to have my entire body soaking in water. And this tub was deep enough that my entire body was in the water!

After my tub I laid in bed sipping wine, updating the TR, and thinking about my kitties.

I drifted off to sleep with the BBC news droning on in the background.

 

[jedijill]

ou see Karin and Tom had given me 3 kilos of stuff to bring back for Jill. I was going to be her Gummi Bear Mule. LOL! They had made a special trip to Passau to the store where they sell these special Gummi Bears the week before I arrived. You see, I couldn’t go to the shop where the special gummi bears are sold because we were in Passau on my birthday which was a holiday. All stores were closed that day.

Thank you Gummy Bear Mule! They are so good....I'm on my last bag and just ate a few more today! So yummy!

Belle would be in heaven!

Darn musicians and their patrons, leaving trash all over the floor!

So rude!

I had a little bit of souvenir shopping that I wanted to do. First we went to the Haribo Outlet.

Ok, just sang the Haribo song in my head!

Anyways, they picked me up around quarter to 7PM and we went to dinner. We went back to the Austrian pub that we had been to earlier in the week. For the last few days id really been craving spinach. Probably since I'd had so few veggies on this trip. They had a späetzle with spinach, ham, and cream, and that totally hit the spot.

That looks delicious but huge! Glad you could take the leftovers!

I was being Jill's Gummi Bear mule in addition to my own sweet tooth addiction. Karin had given me three Kilos of Bears and Jam for Jill. That was the first bunch to come out of the suitcase. I also put my single serving fondue cup in my carry-on, as well as my own gummies and chocolate bars. Oh and folks, if you're thinking that these are those kind of gummies, no, they're just candy. The only high we will get from them is a sugar high.

Thank you again! I live in Colorado...I don't need help with the other kind.

They dropped me off around 11:40, and I had plenty of time to make my way to the platform and wait. The app is pretty neat, you can see your train number and seat number. Magdalene had purchased me reserved seats for all my trips, even though I had to kick the people out of my seats on the last two trains, at least I had a seat. Now as I sat on the train platform looking at my carriage number and seat number, my carriage was no longer on the train!

Yikes! Glad Magdalene could help out!

Very nice of Bernie Sanders to give up his seat!

At this point I closed out the check. I knew I needed more food, and I checked the menu for restaurant at the Hilton Garden Inn, and they basically shared the same kitchen. So I went to Burger King and got a Whopper Jr which was about €5, savings of €22 although I'm sure the one from the bar would have looked/tasted better. But I didn't need tastes better, I just wanted a little bit of protein.

How many pyramids did the BK Whopper get?

Jill in CO

 

[missjackiemcg]

I love all of the beautiful ceilings in the home of the Emperor. It's amazing how ornate and fancy all of their furniture and art were!!

I would have been majorly stressing about the snafoo with the train carriage gone missing!! I'm so glad there were some kind people around that helped with your bags and gave up their seat for you not to stand for 5 hours!!!!!! I cannot even imagine!

Some wine and a soak sounds like a perfect way to end a busy, stressful travel day.

 

[pkondz]

And now it's down to like 7 hours!

And you posted that yesterday... you're on your way!

I have like 40+ pairs of capris, probably twice as many dresses, and then long pants (which I only wear about 1/4 of the year), I have at least 20 pairs of those.

Most of the reason I'm getting rid of stuff lately is that it's so big on me, and I can't have it altered, some of the clothes just don't fit.

Too big... that's good! It means you are smaller.

Well someday, but there are so many other places I need to go first.

So many places...

I think the name was a lot longer than that.....

I kept it short for brevity's purpose.

OK folks! Today is the day! I’m off on my next adventure!

Have a great time!

I took my last shower until I was home

which was three weeks later.

Do NOT stand downwind!

You see Karin and Tom had given me 3 kilos of stuff to bring back for Jill.

3 kilos?!?!?

I was going to be her Gummi Bear Mule.

My suitcase was still only 45 pounds, but I was going to have a heck of a time lugging it onto the train the next day.

Meh. Get some young and dumb men to help.

They had Eier Benedikt on the menu and that sounded yummy and intriguing to me, so I ordered it. This turned out to be one of the best breakfasts that I have had on the entire trip!

It looks good to me too.

On the other hand Karin and Tom hated the place, her teapot was rusted, whatever style of eggs that they ordered were basically served raw.

Oh. Okay, not so good, then.

I’m sure the native speakers got a much better tour because they could interact with the guide and ask questions.

I can see that.

At some point during the tour, I listened to a history of how Florian became a Saint and why he is the Saint of Firefighters.

Interesting story. I've never heard of Florian.

Darn musicians and their patrons, leaving trash all over the floor!

We were about to enter the library.

I love this library! Wowza!

I loved that these keys were used to lock and unlock the doors.

Skeleton keys are just cool.

Then we entered this large ballroom. Today it is used for concerts, private ceremonies and other functions. There was just a concert in there the day before.

Can you imagine performing in there?

Here are the confessionals.

That's interesting. I've never seen confessionals that are recessed.

They like their ceilings here!

If you are not familiar with Anton Bruckner here is a small history on his life.

I wasn't. I've heard the name, but that's about it.

There are also thousands of skulls and other bones down there that they found when excavating the area.

That's... just a little creepy.

Crypty...

whatever

Here are some other caskets on display in the crypt.

I see dead people...

I wonder if they thought that some day they'd be a tourist attraction. Guessing... not.

 

[pkondz]

we had paid extra for an additional tour of the “guest sleeping areas”

Sure. After all that touring, a nap was in order.

so the guide walked the other people out of the building

Begone, riffraff!

We climbed another floor and went into a series of rooms that were occupied by the Emperor and Empress when they came to visit.

Cool!

This room was where you sat and waited if you were to take an audience with the Emperor.

That oven in the corner is very similar (although far more ornate) to the one in my dad's home when he was little.

I believe that this was the room where one would have a private audience with the Emperor.

Are you sure? It seems odd that there would be a bed?

And I believe that this was the Empress’s room.

Similar to the Emperor's.
Love the hidden door. I think that's pretty common. I've seen similar in other castles.

It’s like these rooms are never ending!

What unlimited funds and power can get ya.

The last room was a replica of Bruckner’s room, to show how simply he lived in comparison to the opulence of those that he served.

Quite the contrast!

I ordered a salad with pieces of fried chicken, and it was quite good, but a very large portion. And mostly chicken!

Fried chicken with an afterthought of lettuce.

Then we went to the concert in the church. It was a beautiful experience.

I bet that was! Did they play the organ? Assuming so?

This is what $20 of gummi bears looks like from the Haribo outlet. One of these bags sells for about $5.99 in my grocery store.

I have no idea what they cost as I've never bought any. Maybe I need to try some.

I think this is like a one year supply for me! (Spoiler alert: It wasn’t. They’re all gone!)

Then we went to one of their mega grocery stores so that I could buy some Milka bars. My little Billa next to the hotel did not have any good flavors that I liked. They were all Hazelnut, or some kind of other nut, not my cup of tea.

Correct. No nuts.

Boy are the TSA going to think i'm a nut job if they check my suitcase.

They had a späetzle with spinach, ham, and cream, and that totally hit the spot.

Love spaetzle. Not a huge fan of spinach, but I'd try that.

I was stuffed but Karin insisted that I have dessert.

One must.
When in Rome (or Austria, as the case may be)...

We found the smallest dessert on the menu. It was a crepe filled with apricot marmalade and dusted with powdered sugar. It was delicious, but I could not finish it all!

It doesn't look very big. You must've been really full!

Even if business class allows up to 70 pounds for luggage, this is a problem because I have to get my bags on and off the train.

You don't need to buy weights to work out... just tote your suitcase around!

Oh and folks, if you're thinking that these are those kind of gummies, no, they're just candy. The only high we will get from them is a sugar high.

Must admit that didn't even occur to me.

I asked if I could buy a cup of coffee and they said for me to get whatever I wanted and they would charge me accordingly.

I thought this might be foreshadowing that you were grossly overcharged. Apparently not.

When we came up the stairs from the parking garage

I assume the bags stayed in the car?

Pretty presentation.

I looked at the train app, and it appeared that my train was already delayed about 10-15 minutes. That made me feel a little better because it was after 11AM and my train was scheduled to leave at 12:35. I know that I shouldn’t worry so much. Maybe once I travel more, I won’t stress over being early for everything.

I dunno... I always try to be super early. I don't like stressing over travel if I can help it.

Now as I sat on the train platform looking at my carriage number and seat number, my carriage was no longer on the train!

Um... what?

Getting on the train was a bit of a challenge, with my two small heavy bags and my one big heavy bag, I wasn’t sure how I would do it. All the men at the stop just jumped on the train, and when I was about to go up the stairs, there was a woman behind me. I motioned for her to go ahead, and she asked in English, “Do you need help?” That was so kind!

Whelp... no young and dumb men, but a kind woman instead.

He looked at my ticket and went into the car, and pointed to a seat. By the time I started to grab my bags and such, someone was in the seat.

Good thing you paid (or someone did) for first class.

Then I walked the cabin looking at the reservations on the seats to see if any would free up before I reached Frankfurt some 5 hours later. It was looking pretty bleak as I was going down the rows, until I got to a seat in the area where the server had been when he pointed at a seat. The gentleman in the seat got up and offered me his seat. Funny thing was it was the same seat number as the seat I was supposed to have in Carriage #28, only this was Carriage #27. Also the seat was reserved from Linz to Frankfurt. Funny about that!

Huh. But glad it worked out in the end.

At the next stop the other two suitcases were removed and now there was room for all my bags. Now all my bags were within my sight.

Bet that was a relief.

I got out the computer, and got my rum soaked cake from the other day.

How was it?

As we approached Frankfurt I realized that I was actually getting hungry, a feeling I had not experienced at all in the past week!

Kept you well fed, did they?

I even asked a guy with a button that said “Can I help you?” In German of course. He told me to go outside and ask the taxi drivers. No help at all.

I walked all the way down this long hall and to the Marriott and Sheraton when a bellman told me to go back in the other direction. Right back to the train station. It turns out the Hilton was right there at the train Station!

Lodging was over 50% of the costs on my trip, and ⅔ of that was already paid off before the trip started!

Sure helps prevent the after-trip sticker shock.

The check in desk was pretty swamped and people had so many inane questions that just made the wait longer.

I've experienced that. So frustrating.

Finally I got to my room and I was elated to find a bathtub!

Yuss!!!

all I needed was a bed and a place to pee,

And a tub.

Okay, maybe you didn't need it, but it sure is a nice bonus.

There was a €27 cheeseburger which was also a “no”.

Yeah... no. I've spent that much on a cheeseburger (Gordon Ramsay Burger), but sure wouldn't at a hotel.

I went to Burger King and got a Whopper Jr which was about €5, savings of €22 although I'm sure the one from the bar would have looked/tasted better.

I actually think it might not have tasted better.

 

[franandaj]

Thank you Gummy Bear Mule! They are so good....I'm on my last bag and just ate a few more today! So yummy!

Mine are pretty much all gone. Except I have some of the individual mini packages of them. I take those in my cooler and eat them on the way to band.

Belle would be in heaven!

I bet!

So rude!

Ok, just sang the Haribo song in my head!

I don't know the Haribo song, you'll have to sing it to me when you get here!

That looks delicious but huge! Glad you could take the leftovers!

Me too. It made for a good breakfast the next morning.

Thank you again! I live in Colorado...I don't need help with the other kind.

Me neither, evidently. I've never tried them.

Yikes! Glad Magdalene could help out!

Well she purchased the tickets before I got there. She couldn't really help me that day.

Very nice of Bernie Sanders to give up his seat!

That's not the seat I ended up with!

How many pyramids did the BK Whopper get?

I didn't think to rate it, but I'd say two!

 

[franandaj]

I love all of the beautiful ceilings in the home of the Emperor. It's amazing how ornate and fancy all of their furniture and art were!!

It's amazing what they were able to do back then, so pretty and detailed!

I would have been majorly stressing about the snafoo with the train carriage gone missing!! I'm so glad there were some kind people around that helped with your bags and gave up their seat for you not to stand for 5 hours!!!!!! I cannot even imagine!

I think what did not come across in my sarcasm was that the guy who gave up his seat, was actually sitting in my reserved seat. It wasn't out of niceness, I think he figured out he should move.

Some wine and a soak sounds like a perfect way to end a busy, stressful travel day.

It was a nice way to end the day. And I was going to have an early morning and another long day.

 

[franandaj]

And you posted that yesterday... you're on your way!

And now I'm here!

Too big... that's good! It means you are smaller.

People keep telling me that, but the scale doesn't say so.

I kept it short for brevity's purpose.

Who is this brevity and what is her purpose?

which was three weeks later.

Do NOT stand downwind!

It was only one week!


But it could have been one day. Pew! If you ran into me yesterday after I got off the plane! Boy did I need a shower and change of clothes!

Meh. Get some young and dumb men to help.

Fat chance!

It looks good to me too.

It was.

Interesting story. I've never heard of Florian.

I had not heard of him either.

I love this library! Wowza!

It was very impressive!

Skeleton keys are just cool.

Can you imagine performing in there?

I imagine that it would be rather loud and boomy, with a lot of echo.

I wasn't. I've heard the name, but that's about it.

I knew some of his symphonies, but I didn't really know much about him. I learned a lot on this tour.

That's... just a little creepy.

Crypty...

whatever

I see dead people...

I wonder if they thought that some day they'd be a tourist attraction. Guessing... not.

Well, I don't know. The fact that his casket has his name on there twice and he's positioned underneath the organ, makes me think that they might have had a clue.

Sure. After all that touring, a nap was in order.

That oven in the corner is very similar (although far more ornate) to the one in my dad's home when he was little.

The concept of needing to have such elaborate heating systems is always curious to this Southern California Girl!

Are you sure? It seems odd that there would be a bed?

I'm not sure of anything. My note taking was rather poor towards the end of this trip.

Similar to the Emperor's.
Love the hidden door. I think that's pretty common. I've seen similar in other castles.

I think that was so that the mistresses, etc could sneak in and out.

What unlimited funds and power can get ya.

It's good to be the King.

Quite the contrast!

Fried chicken with an afterthought of lettuce.

Pretty much, but that was OK.

I bet that was! Did they play the organ? Assuming so?

I guess I didn't make that clear. Yes it was an organ concert.

I have no idea what they cost as I've never bought any. Maybe I need to try some.

Yes, you need to try some. I found some in BC for $1.99 per bag. Canadian! That was like a few pennies in USD!

Love spaetzle. Not a huge fan of spinach, but I'd try that.

It was quite good. I plan to try some more spaetzle recipes. I bought a cookbook for it.

It doesn't look very big. You must've been really full!

The amount of food that I ate that week was more than I eat in two weeks at home!

I thought this might be foreshadowing that you were grossly overcharged. Apparently not.

No, it was rather affordable. The places we were having breakfast, coffee was like 5 Euros or more, this was super affordable.

I assume the bags stayed in the car?

Well yes.

I dunno... I always try to be super early. I don't like stressing over travel if I can help it.

Me neither, but I seem to overdo it. Unless I have a 6AM departure and run late.

Whelp... no young and dumb men, but a kind woman instead.

Plenty of young and dumb men, they just didn't want to be helpful.

Good thing you paid (or someone did) for first class.
Huh. But glad it worked out in the end.

What I think did not come across clearly in my sarcasm was that I did finally end up in my reserved seat. When they removed the other train car, they transferred my reserved seat to the car that I was in.

Bet that was a relief.

Yes, better to have my luggage where I can see it.

How was it?

I don't remember, but I don't think I loved it. I don't think I hated it either.

Kept you well fed, did they?

Jeez, that would be an understatement. I was actually happy to feel hunger. I do that at home often. I'll skip lunch just so I'm actually hungry for dinner.

Sure helps prevent the after-trip sticker shock.

I was glad to have part of it already paid for. Made the part of paying for meals easier!

And a tub.

Okay, maybe you didn't need it, but it sure is a nice bonus.

I survived the whole two weeks without a tub, so I could have gone one more night, but it was sure nice to take advantage of it the last night!

Yeah... no. I've spent that much on a cheeseburger (Gordon Ramsay Burger), but sure wouldn't at a hotel.

I've spent $33 on a cheeseburger.....but I knew that would be worth it....

I actually think it might not have tasted better.

Entirely possible....

 

[franandaj]

Well folks, I've got one more update, my flight home, and I had hoped to post that while I was in London. But I've just logged onto the Photobucket site, and the options are different. There is no option on the pictures to get a link to share the picture in the TR.

So I guess I will have to wait to finish the TR until I get home.

In a little over two weeks, I'll be back and you can also look for a new TR about mine and Jill's escapades in London and on the Dream!

 

[pkondz]

And now I'm here!

People keep telling me that, but the scale doesn't say so.

Scale isn’t everything.

Who is this brevity and what is her purpose?

Gal I met in high school. Her purpose is a closely guarded secret.

But it could have been one day. Pew! If you ran into me yesterday after I got off the plane! Boy did I need a shower and change of clothes!

Oh dear.

I imagine that it would be rather loud and boomy, with a lot of echo.

Oh! Hadn’t thought of that at all.

The concept of needing to have such elaborate heating systems is always curious to this Southern California Girl!

Life and death in some places… like… here.

I think that was so that the mistresses, etc could sneak in and out.

What I’ve heard.

Yes, you need to try some. I found some in BC for $1.99 per bag. Canadian! That was like a few pennies in USD!

I have seen them… just never bought any.

It was quite good. I plan to try some more spaetzle recipes. I bought a cookbook for it.

I’ve only made one kind. Apparently I need to branch out.

The amount of food that I ate that week was more than I eat in two weeks at home!

Plenty of young and dumb men, they just didn't want to be helpful.

What I think did not come across clearly in my sarcasm was that I did finally end up in my reserved seat. When they removed the other train car, they transferred my reserved seat to the car that I was in.

Ohhhh

I survived the whole two weeks without a tub, so I could have gone one more night, but it was sure nice to take advantage of it the last night!

I've spent $33 on a cheeseburger.....but I knew that would be worth it....

33 huh?

Well folks, I've got one more update, my flight home, and I had hoped to post that while I was in London. But I've just logged onto the Photobucket site, and the options are different. There is no option on the pictures to get a link to share the picture in the TR.

That’s weird.

So I guess I will have to wait to finish the TR until I get home.

That’s okay. We’ll wait.

In a little over two weeks, I'll be back and you can also look for a new TR about mine and Jill's escapades in London and on the Dream!

Woot!!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I think what did not come across in my sarcasm was that the guy who gave up his seat, was actually sitting in my reserved seat. It wasn't out of niceness, I think he figured out he should move.

Oops, yep, I definitely missed that. LOL! Well, in that case, I'm glad he got his butt out of your seat!!!

Have the most amazing time in London and on the Dream! I have only ever been to London once (on the Dream once, too!) I definitely want to go back since it's almost 25 years ago by now, and we only spent two nights there on our way to Ireland. Definitely not enough!

 

[franandaj]

Oh! Hadn’t thought of that at all.

Musicians, we're always thinking about acoustics.

Life and death in some places… like… here.

Yeah, I get that, it's just not a thing where I live and doesn't even cross my mind. Wearing a jacket. Not even a big thing.

I’ve only made one kind. Apparently I need to branch out.

Well this book has all kinds of interesting twists on the main kind.

That’s weird.

I think they just changed the entire way that they allow you to share photos. I've figured it out I think.

That’s okay. We’ll wait.

And now you're gone!

 

[franandaj]

Oops, yep, I definitely missed that. LOL! Well, in that case, I'm glad he got his butt out of your seat!!!

Yes, I'm told its a common thing for people without reservations to take the seats of people who have them with no regard. At least his conscience must have kicked in.

Have the most amazing time in London and on the Dream! I have only ever been to London once (on the Dream once, too!) I definitely want to go back since it's almost 25 years ago by now, and we only spent two nights there on our way to Ireland. Definitely not enough!

Well you've definitely been following along, but there so much more to all the pictures than one can post on FB or Instagram, so there will be a full blown TR launching soon!

 

[franandaj]

Day 14

I woke up several times in the night to pee. Not unusual since I had cocktails, wine, and one of those complimentary bottles of water dumped into my water bottle. I actually still had some of my hotel made ice leftover from the previous morning!

At about 6:15 I gave up on sleep and deleted my 7AM wake up alarm. I had been smart about packing the day before. Everything I needed for last night was in that little red duffel bag. The only thing I had to open my giant suitcase for was one of my ziplock baggies of extraneous meds that I had crammed into the top part when I had to do the mad “reduce the weight” dash, the morning before. It seems that something bit my leg. On the train I had an itch and when I pulled up my pant leg, there was definitely a welt from some kind of bite. I had cortisone cream in that extraneous meds bag and it really helped the itch.

I've got everything in that bag, from cough meds, diarrhea pills, covid test, Z-pack, Voltaren Gel, Mucinex, I'm a walking OTC pharmacy!

All I had to do was get dressed, put everything back in the little duffel, pack up my fully charged electronics, fill my water bottle with ice, and I was ready to go.

I was out the door by 8AM, and it's a good thing, I basically knew where I was going. At the end of the hallway to the train station, there was a Le CroBag, and there I purchased a ham and cheese baguette just in case I didn't get into a lounge before the flight.



Then I got completely lost! The hotel was in Terminal 1 and my flight left from Terminal 2. A couple weeks ago I was easily able to take the inter terminal shuttle bus and get where I needed to go. This time not so much.

I thought I knew where I was going, but I was completely lost. First I was on the wrong level. When I finally found the right level I walked completely the wrong way. I saw the inter terminal shuttle bus go by, then I asked a random person (in a yellow green vest) where the inter terminal bus was. He pointed me in completely the other direction.

When I finally found the place where the bus had dropped me off a couple weeks ago, the guy there told me I needed to go to bus stop 15. It took me a while to figure out what he meant cause he kept saying “five and ten” which I realized was literally translating the German fünfzehn, fünf = five, zehn = ten.

I think we were at like stop 29 when he told me where to go, so I still had a ways to walk. Keep in mind I'm schlepping almost 65lbs of bags on the one side and my wheeled carry-on and DCL tote carry on with the other. Even though both bags have full roller wheels, controlling that 65lbs (46 lb green bag and 17lb little red bag riding on top) was still straining to my arms. I had to keep switching sides so as not to over stress one side of my body.

Finally I reached the spot where the bus loaded, and there was one waiting. I got on and schlepped my luggage on board as well. One thing about having a giant suitcase is you have to keep getting it on and off trains, shuttles, and the like. Though I'm not too sure how I could have traveled much lighter.

When they finally dropped us off at Terminal 2, it was at Terminal D and my flight was from Terminal E, the American Check-in counter was as far as you could get from where we were dropped off. Luckily this was the last I would see of my bags, until Dallas, where I had to pick them up and take them through customs before dropping them off again for the last flight of the trip.

The ticketing agent was rather cute and we chatted for a bit. She had lived in Houston for a while, and her English was impeccable. She told me how to get to the priority lounge and suggested that I wait in there until just before boarding! Score!

I went through passport control without a problem and walked the long distance (again) to the lounge. I'm getting used to this! I found a table and immediately helped myself to some Cappuccino. I also got some Chicken Soup, mainly because it sounded good and I wasn't sure where to find the plates, but there were bowls next to the soup.

It was good! Next helping was cold cuts and rolls like a traditional European breakfast.

Once I had some food in my tummy, it was time for a Bloody Mary.

And then I went off through security. They pulled me aside to scan my purple bag. Luckily it was nothing and they gave it back to me promptly and I was on my way. It wasn't long until boarding began and I took my seat. I was offered water, orange juice, or Sparkling wine, I took the water and the wine!

After take off I tried to pick up where I left off in Coco on the Outgoing trip, but there was a glitch in the entertainment system. Several other movies would start, but not Coco. Evidently there were a couple video screens that were not working at all, so they rebooted the system and that did it! I watched Coco, and then went into a Harry Potter Marathon.

I drifted off to sleep a few times during the movies, but not enough sleep to be substantial. Here’s the menu.

To start I had the Crispy Salad Mix and Chicken Tikka.

I wanted the pasta caprese, but those were sold out by the time that they got to me. So I ended up with the Herbed Filled Chicken.

For dessert I went with the Red Fruits Charlotte, It was pretty tasty.

Several hours later they came by with another “lunch” or dinner. Who knows. We were landing in Dallas at around 2PM, but we had taken off from Frankfurt at about 10AM. On the second food go around, the other option was quinoa and eggplant. No thanks. So I went with the Chicken and Pesto Croque Monsieur.

We landed in Dallas and it was pretty simple. I got off the plane and soared through customs. With Global Entry, I just went through the automated scanner, I didn’t even have to talk to anyone! It took a while for my luggage to come up and then I dropped it off again in the next room, and it was off to go through security.

Even with PreChek that took a while, but not nearly as long as it would have if I didn’t have it! There weren’t any lounges near where my gate was so I just ended up going to a bar and I got another one of my favorite drinks.

And the bartender gave me a glass of icewater! Yay for being back in the land of the Free Icewater!

I had about half an hour before my plane boarded, the last of a long series of travels. Once onboard they served me white wine, and a chicken parmesan. There was a salad, but there were olives on the plate and they polluted the cheese. The little bundt cake was good too.

I sat next to a nice woman who was from So Cal, but she was living in Texas with her daughter temporarily. She was coming home for the weekend, but heading back to Texas the following week. She was a Disney fan and we talked for a while, and I shared about Fran and she was really compassionate.

For the last hour, she went back to her iPad and I tried to sleep. Not sure how well that worked out.

We landed without any issue and Donna picked me up, with her Brother in Law, Brian doing the driving, since she can’t find her way out of a paper bag. They got me home safely. I counted noses of the kitties before feeding them all. And then I went to bed, it was just after 8PM and if I could sleep, I’d be back on West Coast time easily.

The kitties slept with me and with just a little bit of tiredness the next day, I jumped right back into my regular life, and right on schedule.

Here’s my Google timeline for today.

And that’s a wrap! My trip to Germany and Austria all done!

Look for the link to the next Trip Report where Jill and I sail back to America on the Disney Dream!

 

[jedijill]

The Frankfurt airport is soooo big and confusing! Glad you had plenty of time to navigate since you took the scenic route as my dad would call it. LOL Looks like American fed you pretty well!

Can't wait to hear about our adventures!

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

Hey Folks! The new TR has started! Check it out here!

 

[franandaj]

The Frankfurt airport is soooo big and confusing! Glad you had plenty of time to navigate since you took the scenic route as my dad would call it.

Yeah, I'm soooooo glad I stayed the night there and didn't have to do any other same day travel!

LOL Looks like American fed you pretty well!

It was OK, they sold out of a lot of the things I wanted! LOL!

Can't wait to hear about our adventures!

Working on that right now!

 

[pkondz]

Musicians, we're always thinking about acoustics.

I always think of how to avoid coconut.

I think they just changed the entire way that they allow you to share photos. I've figured it out I think.

Oh? I may need to do some learning.

I woke up several times in the night to pee. Not unusual since I had cocktails, wine, and one of those complimentary bottles of water dumped into my water bottle.

That’d do it.

At about 6:15 I gave up on sleep and deleted my 7AM wake up alarm.

Ugh. Hate it when that happens.

It seems that something bit my leg.

Wasn’t me.

I've got everything in that bag, from cough meds, diarrhea pills, covid test, Z-pack, Voltaren Gel, Mucinex, I'm a walking OTC pharmacy!

Then I got completely lost!

I asked a random person (in a yellow green vest) where the inter terminal bus was. He pointed me in completely the other direction.

Whoops!

It took me a while to figure out what he meant cause he kept saying “five and ten” which I realized was literally translating the German fünfzehn, fünf = five, zehn = ten.

Ohhhhh. Right.

Even though both bags have full roller wheels, controlling that 65lbs (46 lb green bag and 17lb little red bag riding on top) was still straining to my arms. I had to keep switching sides so as not to over stress one side of my body.

Oy. Lucky you didn’t throw something out.

One thing about having a giant suitcase is you have to keep getting it on and off trains, shuttles, and the like.

Oh I know.

She told me how to get to the priority lounge and suggested that I wait in there until just before boarding! Score!

Next helping was cold cuts and rolls like a traditional European breakfast.

I’d eat that.

Once I had some food in my tummy, it was time for a Bloody Mary.

There ya go.

there was a glitch in the entertainment system. Several other movies would start, but not Coco.

Well poop.

I watched Coco, and then went into a Harry Potter Marathon.

Not the worst way to pass the time.

Several hours later they came by with another “lunch” or dinner. Who knows.

So I went with the Chicken and Pesto Croque Monsieur.

Interesting combination. How was that?

And the bartender gave me a glass of icewater! Yay for being back in the land of the Free Icewater!

There was a salad, but there were olives on the plate and they polluted the cheese.

Yeah… yuck.

She was a Disney fan and we talked for a while, and I shared about Fran and she was really compassionate.

We landed without any issue and Donna picked me up, with her Brother in Law, Brian doing the driving, since she can’t find her way out of a paper bag.

The kitties slept with me and with just a little bit of tiredness the next day, I jumped right back into my regular life, and right on schedule.

Good! Glad you managed to avoid too much jet lag.

And that’s a wrap! My trip to Germany and Austria all done!

Thanks for posting all about it!!!